Final has unveiled the DX10000 CL, a new closed-back flagship headphone built around a 40mm True Diamond dynamic driver, with pre-orders opening July 9, 2026. The standard edition is priced at $8,499, while the first 150 units will be sold as a Collector’s Edition for $8,999. Because apparently the headphone market looked at five-figure loudspeaker cables and said, “Hold my paulownia wood box.”
Before anyone starts polishing the Crown Jewels, Final is not exactly operating in uncharted waters here. Diamond material has already appeared in personal audio, including Periodic Audio’s Carbon IEM, TXN Sound’s Diamond IEM, and a much wider field of diamond-like carbon driver coatings used by brands such as Campfire Audio and Austrian Audio.
The difference is that Final is not merely saying “diamond-like” or using diamond as jewelry-counter shorthand. The DX10000 CL uses a CVD-grown True Diamond diaphragm in a full-size closed-back flagship headphone, and Final has built the entire acoustic system around it.
The timing is also worth noting. The high-end headphone category has been moving well beyond the old $1,000 psychological barrier for years. Meze Audio recently announced the ARTA at $6,000 with a 225-ohm high-impedance planar magnetic driver; Audeze’s LCD-5s sells for $4,500 and adds SLAM acoustic management to its planar platform; the Audeze CRBN2 electrostatic headphone is $5,995; and Meze’s Elite Tungsten remains a $4,000 planar magnetic headphone.
The DX10000 CL is more expensive than all of those, so Final had better be bringing more to the table than a shiny diaphragm and a huge asking price.
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What Makes the Final DX10000 CL Different?
The core of the DX10000 CL is its 40mm True Diamond diaphragm dynamic driver. Final says the center dome is produced using Chemical Vapor Deposition, where diamond is grown as a crystalline layer before the substrate is removed, leaving a self-supporting diamond dome. That matters because this is not the same thing as a common DLC coating placed over another diaphragm material.
Final’s argument is straightforward: diamond offers very high rigidity, high sound velocity, and strong internal damping, which should help the driver maintain piston-like motion, reduce deformation, and suppress residual vibration after the signal stops.
The company has also redesigned the supporting driver assembly, including a polyurethane surround, lightweight polyimide bobbin-integrated voice coil, free-floating lead wire structure, N55 neodymium magnet, aluminum shorting ring, and internal damping system. Exotic diaphragm materials do not automatically guarantee great sound. Implementation still does the heavy lifting, as usual. And that’s before you even start thinking about the source, DAC, and headphone amplifier to make this very expensive headphone worth the expenditure.
Closed-Back Is the Hard Part
The DX10000 CL is not another open-back flagship chasing a huge soundstage and then calling isolation someone else’s problem. Final is taking on closed-back headphone design, which is harder to get right at this level because rear sound waves reflect inside the enclosure and can create resonance, coloration, and that familiar cupped-in effect.
To address that, Final uses a high-rigidity, airtight housing machined from an aluminum-magnesium alloy with 5-axis CNC machining. Inside the housing, unnecessary material is removed to reduce weight, and the resulting cavities are filled with dedicated acoustic damping material to control internal reflections.
The earpads are also part of the tuning strategy. Instead of relying on a fully sealed pad that increases low-frequency pressure and then correcting the balance with elevated treble, Final uses Ultrasuede with controlled air permeability and a selected foam material.
The goal is to manage the ear chamber more naturally while maintaining an effective seal. That is a smarter claim than simply promising “more bass,” which is one of the most abused marketing terms around in the Head-Fi world.
Better-defined bass with real clarity, detail, and texture should be expected from an $8,500 headphone, but we’ll see whether Final’s driver, enclosure, and damping choices actually deliver.
Built to Be Serviced, Not Worshipped From Across the Room
One of the more useful details is the DX10000 CL’s 12-point through-bolt construction. Final says the housing assembly is clamped together with 12 screws rather than adhesive, allowing the headphone to be disassembled and serviced. Wear components are replaceable, which matters when the standard version costs $8,499 and the Collector’s Edition costs $8,999. At that price, “throw it out when the pads go” would be immediate grounds for a red card and that one is not being overturned because someone makes a phone call.
The Collector’s Edition adds gold-colored accents, a traditional Japanese paulownia wood box, a Shingen Pouch made from Tango Chirimen silk, and a CNC-machined aluminum headphone stand. The standard edition uses silver-colored accents and ships with the protective carrying case used across Final’s D Series headphones.
Cables and Connectivity
Final includes two silver-coated OFC cables co-developed with Junkosha: a 4.4mm balanced cable at 1.5 meters using ePTFE insulation, and a 4-pin XLR cable at 3 meters using larger conductors and PFA insulation. Final also includes two adapters: 4-pin XLR female to 6.3mm male, and 4.4mm female to 6.3mm male. That gives the DX10000 CL broad compatibility with desktop headphone amplifiers and high-end audio systems.
Final DX10000 CL Specifications:
- Headphone Type: Closed-back over-ear headphone
- Driver: 40mm True Diamond diaphragm dynamic driver
- Diaphragm Process: CVD-grown diamond center dome
- Housing: Aluminum-magnesium alloy
- Magnet: N55 neodymium
- Voice Coil: Lightweight polyimide bobbin-integrated structure
- Shorting Ring: Aluminum
- Earpads: Ultrasuede with selected foam material
- Construction: 12-point through-bolt serviceable housing assembly
- Impedance: 20 ohms at 1 kHz
- Sensitivity: 92 dB/mW at 1 kHz
- Weight: 543 grams
- Included Cable: 4.4mm balanced, 1.5m, silver-coated OFC with ePTFE insulation
- Included Cable: 4-pin XLR, 3m, silver-coated OFC with PFA insulation
- Included Adapters: 4-pin XLR female to 6.3mm male; 4.4mm female to 6.3mm male
The Bottom Line
The DX10000 CL stands out less for using diamond as a driver material and more for how Final applies it: a CVD-grown True Diamond diaphragm inside a closed-back flagship with a rigid aluminum-magnesium housing, controlled internal damping, and serviceable construction.
At $8,499, expectations are high. This is for serious headphone listeners who want a closed-back reference design, already have a capable desktop system, and are willing to pay for Final’s specific approach to driver material, enclosure control, and long-term ownership.
For more information: final-inc.com
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Asa
July 9, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Diamonds…don’t try and resell your grandmother’s jewelry you inherited. It’s only for the dealers to make a killing off your engagement and then later after you’ve ‘engaged’ your prenup, the jewelers says I’ll give you five bucks for it. Lol.
Seem like a decent pair of cans, but at that price, um, no. So many better options for more than half the price or more that you’ve already identified in all your reviews.
Keep up the excellent work, Ian (and team).
Ian White
July 9, 2026 at 6:44 pm
Asa,
Diamonds are definitely not forever. Ask my ex-wife. Ouch.
I like some of Final’s IEMs but this does not move the needle for me. I’d rather have the CRNB2 or my existing Empyrean II from Meze.
Hope the summer is going well. It’s been kinda nuts here. 105 for 5 days and then 7″ of rain in one hour. Flooded out the neighbourhood. We managed to avoid the water.
A lot of U-Boats were made that day.
IW
Asa
July 9, 2026 at 10:06 pm
Same for you, Ian. Ya, my wife and I had some jewels from various deaths in the family and it was deemed best to make some custom fittings due to the ‘priceless’ diamonds. Sigh.
I see those storms going through Palm Coast currently. We were there one year and in an hour, it went from sunny and dry, to torrential rains/winds that almost knocked the power out of our hotel.
Good times!
Maybe you can send some of that rain our way. Up here in the Rockies, it’s been dry, BUT we have been getting some evening thunderstorms (not forcasted!) and welcome each and every drop. May G*d have mercy on our dry ground and receding lakes/reservoirs.
Take care!
AB
Ian White
July 10, 2026 at 12:38 am
Asa,
It started raining this afternoon again here in Jersey and I just opened my mouth and let it wash away the 7 hours of garage cleaning. What a week. And more to come.
IW